‘We want to prove to everyone that we do deserve to be here.’

It was an emotional night in Kitchen HQ as fan favourites Anne and Maree became the latest team to leave My Kitchen Rules, following a high-pressure elimination cook-off against best friends Lol and Lil.

Both teams received an average score of seven from their fellow contestants but judges Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge tipped the balance in Lol and Lil’s favour.

“We were very nervous going into it,” Lol told 7NEWS.com.au.

“We were so scared. I don’t think we’ve ever been more terrified for anything. Especially going up against Anne and Maree, with all their knowledge in cooking.

“They just have the most experience and obviously all those recipes was their secret weapon — we didn’t know what they had in that cookbook.”

The best friends from Logan, Queensland, revealed they went into the cook-off with a game plan, which ultimately paid off.

“I think last time we were thrown in the deep end, so we wanted to go into the cook-off with a strict plan this time and stick to it,” Lil said.

“Lol unravelled a little bit last time with a lot of stress and I think that was because she wasn’t in control of the situation, so after that we decided for her to be in control of the cook, and I would follow the lead.

“That’s what we did to get through that cook.”

Anne and Maree leaned into their roots with a traditional Greek banquet and for dessert served a Greek Ekmek Kataifi, spinning their own pastry from scratch.

Lol and Lil countered with a warm and nostalgic Sunday roast. For dessert, the pair attempted an ambitious profiterole tower. While bold, the execution wasn’t perfect — some profiteroles lacked filling and there were sizing inconsistencies.

“After the cook we were quite nervous, we weren’t sure if we’d done enough, but we were definitely proud of what we produced,” Lil said.

“No matter whether we were going home or staying in the competition, we were super proud of what we produced and so we felt good — but it was definitely nerve-racking waiting to hear the scores.”

In a close contest, the Greek mother-daughter duo scored 19 out of 30, edged out by Lol and Lil’s score of 21.

“It was bittersweet saying goodbye to Anne and Maree,” Lol said. “It was so close but we were so proud and ecstatic.”

Despite the big win, Lol, 26, and Lil, 25, confessed they still feel they have something to prove, sharing that some contestants continue to underestimate them because they’re younger and have less experience.

“We are really excited to give it our all again and hopefully we want to prove to everyone that we do deserve to be here,” Lil said.

“Even though we’ve made it this far, even though we’ve made it to HQ, we still feel like we do need to prove something.”

“Michael, he just never lets it down. He’s always saying that we’re going to be at the bottom, so this time we’re really hoping we’re not in the bottom two.”

But heading into the plant-based challenge on Tuesday night, the besties agreed they weren’t going to let the comments deter them and had some recipes up their sleeves.

“We have a bit of an advantage because we have an extra cook in the kitchen,” Lol said.

“Danielle and Marko still haven’t cooked since their Instant Restaurant.

“But we know what the time pressure feels like and now we know what it’s like when you go in with a plan.

“So I think it might be a bit of an advantage — as much as the pressure was crazy and the stress was even crazier. I think it gives us a little bit of a leg up in the competition.”